I’m a childcare worker with COVID. Get your kids vaccinated

To the editor: We in the childcare field have tried very hard to stay open during the COVID-19 pandemic. I encourage all parents who need childcare or preschool to take advantage of the current vaccines available to children under 5.

The current surge is real. If not for political reasons, I think we would and should have mask mandates. I’ve worn a mask indoors everywhere but got more relaxed at work.

I got COVID-19 from a 1-year-old in my care. I’ve had three vaccine doses. I got severely sick with a fever for two days, tested positive, alerted my families and closed my childcare center.

I was able to get Paxlovid prescribed, so I hope I am on the road to recovery. Please, get your children vaccinated and wear a mask. This is not over.

Nancy Felix, Los Angeles

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To the editor: As a pediatrician and infectious diseases specialist, and as someone who has witnessed the remarkable, lifesaving impact of childhood vaccines, I was disappointed to see the front-page photo you chose to accompany the article about young children being eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Using the photo of a crying child receiving the vaccine takes away from the bigger picture — protection against serious illness and death offered by the vaccine.

More than 1,000 children in this country have died of COVID-19, and more than 40,000 have been hospitalized. A vaccinated child will be less likely to develop COVID-19, causing them to miss school and other life events, and will also be less likely to bring the virus home to those more vulnerable.

In a time when vaccine misinformation and hesitancy abound, The Times should have chosen a photo that better represents what this vaccine means to millions of families instead of reinforcing negative vaccine imagery.

Deborah Lehman, M.D., Los Angeles